Through one quarter Monday night, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers held their own and opened up a 10-0 lead against the Baltimore Ravens.
But ultimately — as it has throughout the season — Baltimore’s offense proved inevitable. The Ravens closed the first half with a 17-0 run. They then opened the floodgates after halftime to secure a 41-31 win in a Monday night showdown of division-leading teams that started the season 4-2.
By the time Tampa Bay scored again in the fourth quarter, Baltimore had reeled off 34 unanswered points.
It was another offensive clinic by the Ravens in a season filled with them. Once again, Lamar Jackson was the star on a night where he threw five touchdown passes, tying his own Ravens record. It added up to another strong entry in Jackson’s campaign for a third NFL MVP award in six seasons.
Ravens unload after digging 10-0 hole
After two sacks of Jackson derailed Baltimore’s opening possession, the Ravens struck quickly on their second. They needed just six plays and 2:33 to move 70 yards and cap the drive with a nine-yard touchdown pass from Jackson to Mark Andrews. The score cut Baltimore’s deficit to 10-7.
Baltimore’s next possession took just four plays and 1:47 off the clock to drive 80 yards and find the end zone. Jackson set up the score with a 59-yard pass on the run to Rashod Bateman after escaping the Tampa Bay pass rush.
Two plays and a penalty later, Justice Hill ran the ball in on a screen pass from Jackson for an 18-yard touchdown to give the Ravens a 14-10 lead.
A pair of Justin Tucker field goals bookended halftime before the Ravens found the end zone again on their second drive of the third quarter. This time they needed just four plays and 57 seconds to gain 55 yards.
The star again was a deep ball from Jackson to Bateman. This time, Jackson unleashed a 49-yard laser on second-and-17 that Bateman caught in stride after breaking the top off the Tampa Bay secondary.
The touchdown pass was Jackson’s third of the night and extended the Ravens’ lead to 27-10.
At this point, Baltimore had done its damage without much usage from Derrick Henry. The NFL’s leader in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns carried the ball just four times for 23 yards before halftime. He was fresh for the second.
On the first play of Baltimore’s next possession, Jackson handed off to Henry on first-and-10 inside the Ravens’ 10-yard line. Henry broke free to the left sideline and rumbled 81 yards before being tackled at the Tampa Bay 11-yard line.
Four plays later, Jackson found Andrews again for their second touchdown connection of the night. The score ballooned Baltimore’s lead to 34-10 and all but iced the game with 2:53 remaining. The stats on this drive: five plays for 92 yards in 2:05.
The Ravens weren’t perfect down the stretch as they allowed three Tampa Bay touchdowns in the final quarter. A Jackson fumble set up of Tampa Bay’s first touchdown of the second half to cut Baltimore’s lead to 34-18 early in the fourth quarter. Baltimore then found the end zone again on a drive that ended with a Jackson touchdown pass to Derrick Henry.
The Bucs answered with another touchdown and then another after a successful onside kick to cut the Ravens once 24-point lead to 41-31.
But Baltimore recovered Tampa Bay’s next onside kick and didn’t allow the Bucs to score again.
Injuries further mar Tampa Bay’s night
A rough night for the Bucs on the scoreboard was made even more difficult by two injuries to critical players. Leading receiver Mike Evans left in the first half with a hamstring injury.
Then, with less than a minute remaining, Tampa’s No. 2 receiver Chris Godwin sustained what appeared to be a significant leg injury in garbage time. He left the field on a cart with 43 seconds remaining. His left leg was in an air cast.
